The Commuter
The Commuter is a goofy and formulaic thriller, but also an entertaining one thanks to Neeson’s action star chops and Collet-Serra’s sense of style.
Having collaborated for three plastic film already , doer Liam Neeson and director Jaume Collet - Serra reunite for their fourth and possibly silliest thriller yet withThe Commuter . ferrule - Serra made his name as a skilled shlockmeister with hisHouse of Waxremake and repugnance / thrillerOrphanin the 2000s , before he fall in forces with Neeson ( in the post - Takenstage of his acting calling ) for the 2011 mystery / thrillerUnknown . The duad has since tried their hand at something a little more high - minded with the dramatic offense thrillerRun All Night , butThe Commuterhas much more in common with their 2014 murder mysteryNon - Stop . The Commuteris a whacky and formulaic thriller , but also an entertaining one thanks to Neeson ’s action star chops and Collet - Serra ’s sense of style .
Michael McCauley ( Neeson ) is a sixty year old insurance salesman as well as an ex - cop , who has expend the last ten years convert to work by train . When Michael is fired from his Book of Job one day for no in particular expert grounds , he is left attempt to calculate out how he and his wife Karen ( Elizabeth McGovern ) will be capable to make ends meet , what with their boy Danny ( Dean - Charles Chapman ) about to bulge out college . On his ride home that day , Michael is approached by a secret woman name Joanna ( Vera Farmiga ) who makes him an offer : he will be bear $ 100,00 if he can figure out which of the passengers on the train is carrying something precious in their handbag .
Michael dismisses the meeting as a unusual joke , but soon find that Joanna is altogether serious , and that there will be terrible upshot if he does n’t make good on their " deal " . As Michael races against the clock to find the mystery rider before they get off the train , he come to take in that not only his own liveliness , but the lives of every passenger onboard , and even his own family , is at risk of exposure if he fails .
The Commuteris very like toNon - Stopfrom a book position - which only makes sense , asNon - Stopcowriter Ryan Engle also co - penned this celluloid , ground on an other screenplay write by comparative unknown region Philip de Blasi and Byron Willinger . While the film ’s Agatha Christie inspired premise lend itself to a cracking mystery , The Commuterdoesn’t do anything particularly imaginative or unique with the formula . Most of the red herring and plot twists thatThe Commuterthrows out are easy to make out ahead of clock time , and the genuine solution to the larger conflict is clearly cable early on in the narrative . Fortunately , The Commuteris less concerned with craft a mind - blowing teaser for viewers to solve , and more focused on delivering the sort of relentless boot drive that audiences have amount to expect whenever Neeson play the humans ’s slap-up trouble - solving pa .
Michael McCauley is at first show as more of a regular person than the characters Neeson has encounter in his late collaborations with Collet - Serra . In function , however , Michael is n’t all that dissimilar from Neeson ’s other natural process / thriller protagonist , and the actor delivers most of his furrow with the same gruff voiced intensity that he ’s exquisitely - tuned since he first demonstrate his " particular hardening of skill " . Collet - Serra and his production squad take advantage of the pic ’s enclosed setting to stageThe Commuter ’s nigh quarter fight scenes in a way that make it credible enough ( for the cinema ’s use ) that Neeson ’s pig turned insurance agent would n’t be altogether overwhelmed by his opponents . The picture show also contain some stylistic fanfare ( speed up motion , succession shots on the face of it created in post - production ) in these scenes , to further zest thing up .
As he has done in his previous collaborations with Neeson , Collet - Serra fulfil outThe Commuter ’s digest cast with A - list gift . In addition to Farmiga ( who antecedently worked with Collet - Serra onOrphan ) and herConjuringmovies costar Patrick Wilson , the picture further welfare from having veteran persona actor like McGovern filling out its supporting players , as well as Jonathan Banks and Sam Neill in smaller roles . Most of the motion picture ’s character - especially the power train passengers dally by lesser bonk actor - are the sort of two - dimensional stock types that one ask to find in this sort of pulpy fare . The Commuteris above all else the Liam Neeson show , and it wisely never loses sight of that throughout its runtime .
Collet - Serra is cognize for infusing his B - gradation movies with wily product values , and that stay the case withThe Commuter . The film director typically piss respectable enjoyment of the surround in his picture , be it the unavoidable inside of the aeroplane fromNon - Stopor the beautiful and isolate beach inThe Shallows . He similarly use the cramped and dingy inside of a commuter train to positive effect here , when it comes to generating suspense and stress . Working with cinematographer Paul Cameron ( Collateral , Dead Man Down ) , Collet - Serra stylishly maps out the internal layout of the plastic film ’s central dictated piece and keeps things visually engaging , in spite of the unchanging foreground scenery . The downside is , The Commuteris more concerned in getting to the next scene of Neeson plug someone than it is fleshing out its character or exploring the political overtones of its story .
The Commuteris neither Neeson nor Collet - Serra ’s good thriller yet , but it ’s a absolutely serviceable musical style movie that delivers everything audience expect from Neeson ’s action mechanism picture show nowadays - to a defect . It ’s not a picture show that require to be seen in a theater , and it falls well brusk of breaking the mold that Neeson and Collet - Serra have establish for their movie together by now . At the same time , The Commuteris pleasantly absurd and offers enough amusement to help beat away the doldrums of January . Here ’s to hoping Neeson ’s and Collet - Serra ’s " TakenOn A gravy holder " , or whatever move vehicle their next thriller drive place on , is equally fun .
TRAILER
The Commuteris now play in U.S. theaters nationwide . It is 104 minute of arc foresightful and is blackleg PG-13 for some intense action / vehemence , and linguistic process .
The Commuter is a thriller starring Liam Neeson as an insurance salesman who becomes embroiled in a criminal conspiracy during his daily train commute . Directed by Jaume Collet - Serra , the film feature a tense narration where the protagonist must identify a hidden rider to save the lives of everyone on board . The mould also includes Vera Farmiga , Patrick Wilson , and Jonathan Banks .
Sam Neill in The Commuter
Sam Neill in The Commuter
